This week I redrew all the images for the book about my nephew and Branwell the cat in 0.1 fineliner on larger sheets of paper. This will be a book without words, and I am keeping it quite minimalist, using the black-and-white of Branwell as inspiration.
I have also started work on two new books and am wrapping up another one, all with an eye on the end of the year, although that is of course a completely arbitrary deadline.
Meanwhile my share of garden tasks has been woefully neglected, even though the workload is much smaller at this time of the year. I can appreciate the beauty in the austerity of a winter garden and the cycle of life, and at times I manage a Buddhist equanimity about the pointlessness of human endeavour, but part of me is sad to see so much of the effort we put into the garden torn out or disappear, and I feel exhausted at the thought of having to start all over again.
This year I have shed several things - responsibilities, some part-time work, hobbies - that were taking up time, in order to prioritise my work and the people in my life, but nothing is set in stone. One of the pastimes I gave up is knitting and crocheting, but now, with the darker evenings, and inspired by a book my sister gave us, I want to start the large-scale, no-thinking-required project I have been meaning to make, a moss-stitch blanket. I just haven't found the right type of yarn yet (knowing my taste for luxury wool, this blanket will end up costing me an arm and a leg!).
Wonderful illustrations, Marina! Not for the first time, I wish you were closer. I would love for Hope to take some drawing lessons from you. She’s hard on herself and gets frustrated with her endeavours.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I can’t wait to see your moss-stitch blanket! x
Thank you so much, Holly! And likewise - it would be so lovely to meet you and Hope! As for the drawing, she must be a perfectionist. I can recommend doing the upside-down exercise in Betty Edwards's Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, a fantastic book. x
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